Charles Eriksen
Charles Eriksen is the father of Chris Eriksen and widower of Emily Eriksen in The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit and Life is Strange 2. He is a former basketball player and coach, before turning to heavy alcoholism likely after his wife's death. :For the image gallery, click here. To visit Charles' room, click here. Personality Charles is an alcoholic, a dependence likely developed after Emily's passing. His depression and addiction to watching basketball mean that Charles often leaves Chris neglected, causing Chris to do most of the housework and take care of his father at a very young age. Charles is discontent with his current job. He spends time at bars where he occasionally gets into fights. Charles' alcohol and anger management issues cause him to raise his voice, swear, and in some cases, verbally and physically abuse Chris, although he immediately regrets doing so in all depicted cases. He seems aware of his abusive behavior, but has a hard time admitting his abuse.When Chris says that the bruises on his arm are hurting, Charles responds, "It makes me sad that I... that—that you got hurt." Charles seems to have dedicated much of his time towards finding the culprit of the hit-and-run that caused Emily's death. Appearance Charles Eriksen has blue eyes, close-cropped light brown hair with uneven side-swept bangs, and a light beard and mustache. During the events of Captain Spirit, he wears a black quarter-zip pullover with a short blue collar over a white shirt, worn-out navy blue jeans, black-and-white striped socks, and red closed slippers, as well as a golden wedding ring on his left hand. On the following Sunday during "Rules", Charles wears a navy blue sweatshirt over a blue shirt, the same navy blue jeans, and light brown boots. While outside, he wears a brown suede leather jacket over his sweatshirt. Background During his high school and college days, Charles was a highly successful and popular athlete, having won several basketball trophies during his time. He attended Eugene State College, where he met and entered a romantic relationship with Emily Wyatt in 2005 after meeting her in a library during their finals. A year later, Charles married Emily on May 1, 2006 and conceived Chris soon afterwards, resulting in Emily's resignation from college in preparation for his birth. After graduation, Charles began working as a basketball coach for a public school within the Sunny Creek School District. On December 16, 2014, Emily was hit by a car after being stranded on the road and died of her injuries. Her death likely caused Charles to spiral into alcoholism, seemingly causing the loss of his job and several of his friends. His firing in combination with Emily's funeral costs seem to have resulted in him having to move with Chris to a smaller household in Beaver Creek, where he found a job at a railroad company. Soon after her passing, Charles devoted much of his time and resources to finding the culprit of Emily's death, including frequent letters, emails, phone calls to detectives, highway surveillance monitors, and police, the latest of which is dated to September 28, 2016. Captain Spirit On a Sunday morning during December, Charles cooks breakfast for his 9-year old son Chris and calls him down to the kitchen. During their conversation, Charles asks Chris how Chris is enjoying the eggs, how the bruise on his arm is doing (heavily implied to be caused by Charles himself), and about Christmas, leading to Chris asking him about picking out a pine tree like he promised. Charles tells Chris that they will buy a tree after the basketball game, promising not to fall asleep before then. Several drinks afterwards, Charles falls asleep on the recliner during the game. Upon being nudged by Chris, Charles wakes up heavily inebriated and falls over twice, knocking over a table in the process. After Chris attempts to remind Charles of their conversation earlier that day, the doorbell rings, and Charles tells him to send whoever it is away. While resting against the couch, Charles listens in on Chris' conversation with Claire Reynolds and becomes more agitated once Chris returns, culminating in him directly blaming Chris for Emily's death. Upon seeing Chris begin to cry, Charles attempts to apologize to no avail as Chris runs outside, leaving Charles holding his head in his hands. Episode Two - "Rules" While Chris speaks to Daniel and Sean Diaz, Charles rushes out of the house and apologizes to Chris for his actions before noticing the two brothers. He gives them a cautious greeting before lifting Chris onto his shoulders and heading back inside. The next day, Charles decides to make good on his promise to purchase a Christmas tree and prepares to leave while Chris and Daniel play in the living room. Upon exiting the bathroom, Charles announces that he's ready before noticing Sean, who came to their house to find Daniel. Charles invites the brothers to come along with them to the Christmas market, which Sean accepts after some reluctance. Charles then leaves the boys in the house to clean out his truck's back seat, and after Sean and Chris have a short conversation, he honks the horn to signify that they're ready to leave. While at the market, Charles peruses the Christmas trees while Sean looks for a gift to get for Daniel. While there, Sean has the option of thanking Charles for bringing them along. After Sean is finished shopping, Charles gets into the truck and drives the four back home. Upon arriving outside the Reynolds' house, Charles speaks with Sean in the truck as Chris and Daniel play tag outside. Charles asks Sean about the girl he saw Sean talking to at the market, then opens up about his wife's passing and his struggles with being a proper parent to Chris. (If Sean got Chris to open up about his issues)= (If Sean got Chris to open up about his issues) Sean has the option of asking about Charles' alcoholism and its effect on Chris. He can either tell Charles to get himself together or to find help, the latter of which causes Charles to consider taking up Emily's parents' offer to have Chris live with them for the time being. Either way, Charles thanks Sean for his honesty and promises to try to become a better father. After Sean exits the car, Charles drives alongside Chris as they race back to their home while Sean and Daniel return to the Reynolds' house. Episode Four - "Faith" Chris will mention Charles in his letter to Sean and Daniel. If Chris was not hit by the police car and Sean spoke to Charles about his drinking problems, Chris will mention that Charles has been a better dad lately. (TBC) Relationships Friends * Nick - Despite having been close friends in the past and visiting Westernland Park together (a memento from which Charles still keeps framed on a bookshelf in his home), Charles stopped hanging out with Nick at some point for reasons unknown. While at the Christmas market, Nick and Charles can be heard having a friendly conversation, during which Nick expresses his sympathy towards Charles having to raise Chris on his own. During their chat, Nick also mentions being in touch with one of Charles' coworkers, Sam, and it is implied that Nick aided Charles in getting his current job at the railroad.Nick - "What about you? Sam tells me you're doing, uh, great work." Charles - "I try... It's... been rough, but it helps. Can't thank you enough." Nick - "Hey, don't worry. That's what friends are for, right?" (Episode 2 - Nick and Charles' conversation at the Christmas market.) Family * Chris Eriksen (son) - Charles cares for his son and tries to keep him happy, seen through him playing along with Chris' superhero antics, his purchase of a current-gen PlayBox and Hero-Con tickets despite not having much money, and their occasional shared reminiscence over his mother. Despite this, his depression and addiction to watching basketball mean that Charles often leaves Chris neglected, causing Chris to do most of the housework and take care of his father at a very young age. Charles' alcohol and anger management issues cause him to raise his voice, swear, and in some cases, verbally and physically abuse Chris, although he immediately regrets doing so in all depicted cases. Charles refuses attempts from his in-laws to take Chris in while he recovers from his addiction, indicating that he values Chris' being by him. However, Chris' resemblance to his mother in many ways causes him to constantly remind Charles of Emily's passing, which only serves to increase his grief. * Peter and Kristen Wyatt (parents-in-law) - Peter thanks Charles for sending flowers on Emily's birthday. Despite this, Charles seems to avoid meeting with them when he can, possibly out of fear that they would try and take Chris away from him. If Sean convinces him to get help in "Rules", Charles decides to seriously consider taking up their offer to take care of Chris while he overcomes his addiction and anger management issues. Romantic * Emily Eriksen (former wife, deceased) - From their first meeting in college to the latter's passing, Charles and Emily had a strong and loving relationship. Parts of conversation between Charles and Chris about her indicate that their marriage was a happy one, as well as the loose humorous comic strips drawn by Emily centering around their relationship. Charles placed various of her belongings around the house, such as her drawings, old books, and perfume. * Audra (love interest) - Charles seems to be in a relationship with a woman named Audra, who writes in a letter to him that she's concerned about Charles' emotional state and that she "care(s) for him in so many ways." Audra mentions that she wants to meet his son, indicating that he has opened up to her enough to tell her about him, and though she notes that she feels like he may be ashamed of her and that he has said things that have hurt her feelings, she says that she has genuine feelings for Charles and cares for his well-being. Other * Claire Reynolds - Charles keeps her number on the list of phone numbers he tells Chris is "important", indicating that he trusts her on some level. After hearing Charles fall down, she knocks on the door. Charles will either say that she interrogated Chris (if Chris came up with a convincing cover story and Claire did not see Chris' bruises) or call her a "nosey bitch" (if Clarie saw through the lie or saw Chris' bruises). * Sean Diaz - Sean and Charles have a conversation in the latter's truck upon returning from the Christmas Market. Depending on previous choices, Sean can talk to Charles about his drinking problems and tell him to seek help or to get himself together. Charles then thanks Sean for being honest with him. If Sean doesn't speak to Charles about his drinking problems, the conversation ends in relatively neutral terms. Memorable Quotes Trivia * Due to his surname "Eriksen", Charles may have Nordic roots. * Chris can tell Charles that he wants a "PlayBox" for Christmas and, later on, discover that Charles has already bought him one and is keeping it hidden in his closet. "PlayBox" is a portmanteau of the two real-world console brands, and . * Charles is voiced by the same actor that voiced Frank in Before the Storm, Nick Apostolides. * A photograph shows Charles and Nick at "Westernland Park". This might refer to the old west themed area, also known as " " outside of Japan. Gallery Photos Captain Spirit - Charles playing basketball.jpg|Charles playing basketball. Captain Spirit - College newspaper photo of Charles and Emily.jpg|A college newspaper photo of Charles and Emily from 2005. Captain Spirit - Charles' basketball team.jpg|Charles' old basketball team. Captain_Spirit_-_Charles_and_Nick_at_Westernland_Park.png|Charles and his old friend, Nick, at Westernland Park. References pt-br:Charles Eriksen ru:Чарльз Эриксен Category:Characters (Captain Spirit) Category:Captain Spirit Category:Male Characters Category:Eriksen Family Category:Male Characters (Season 2) Category:Characters (Season 2) Category:Episode 2: Rules Characters Category:Male Characters (Captain Spirit) Category:Minor Characters (Season 2) Category:Characters Category:Minor Characters Category:Season 2